The hormone, called PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide), is known to act throughout the body and the brain, modulating central nervous system activity, metabolism, blood pressure, pain sensitivity and immune function. The identification of PACAP as an indicator of PTSD may lead to new diagnostic tools and eventually, to new treatments for anxiety disorders.

â€œFew biological markers have been available for PTSD or for psychiatric diseases in general,â€ says first author Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine and a researcher at Yerkes National Primate Research Center. â€œThese results give us a new window into the biology of PTSD.â€

About the author

Wendy Darling

Wendy Darling is Communications Specialist for Health Sciences Communications at Emory University. In this position, she is responsible for the main WHSC web site and various smaller WHSC-operated web sites. Darling is responsible for technical as well as content-related work, including the production of multimedia content and assignment of work via the web site's content management system.